MLB’s most exciting day has finally passed, and the MLB Trade Deadline has been completed. Now that deadline day has passed, we finally have our look at how the day has panned out for clubs all across Major League Baseball. With the winners and losers of this year’s deadline being far apart from one another, many teams had their seasons and future seasons altered in a large way. In today’s article, I’ll be going over the biggest winners, and losers of the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline.

Biggest Winner: The New York Mets

The Mets certainly had a deadline for the ages, and I don’t think it’s what many plans had in mind for the 2023 New York Mets. With the Mets occupying the highest payroll in Major League Baseball, along with playing far below expectations, it’s easy to imagine how many fans would immediately assume they would be buyers. However, this was not the case. Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler’s Mets would take advantage and capitalize off of a strong sellers market, especially in the pitching department.

After trading David Robertson on July 27th, the deadline deals would only pick up for the Mets. The next move they’d make would be a big one. Max Scherzer would be heading to the Texas Rangers for SS Luisangel Acuña. Many Mets fans would be sent into panic mode following this trade, as they took this as their team giving up. However, this was a really smart move for the Mets. The only questionable part of the deal was the Mets covering all but $22.5 million of his remaining contract. But, Luisangel Acuña as a return piece is a great move. Acuña, a SS and brother of current Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., has made himself into quite the star of his own. Acuña currently boasts a 121 wRC+ with 7 homers in AA, and is currently the number 44 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. With Scherzer struggling for most of the season, and his age quickly rising, the Mets certainly made the most of their chance to move on.

The Scherzer trade however would not be the only big move the Mets would make to revamp their farm system, as they would also trade aging veteran Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros on deadline day. Similarly to Scherzer, Verlander has been very inconsistent for the Mets this season, and some are also worrying his age is catching up to him as well. So, the Mets took advantage of the sellers market, and would flip Verlander for Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford. Gilbert, a former first round selection by the Houston Astros in 2022, has been a very good player throughout his time in the MiLB thus far. Gilbert was hitting to a 192 wRC+ at high-A before earning a promotion to double-A. While he’s struggled at AA, he’s still a generational talent. Gilbert is currently MLB Pipeline’s number 68 ranked prospect. Not only would the Mets come away with a huge piece in Gilbert, but they would also receive Ryan Clifford. Clifford, a former 11th round selection in 2022, is arguably on the same level, if not better than Gilbert. Clifford has spent the majority of his 2023 season at high-A, and he’s absolutely raked. Clifford has hit 16 homers, and posted a wRC+ of 138 in just 58 games. Although Clifford is currently not ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100, he’s certainly on his way.

The Mets came into the trade deadline as a struggling, high roller franchise in the midst of all the pressure in the world. Instead of making impulse, idiotic decisions when it came to buying into big talent in a sellers market, they took advantage of the market to revamp their farm system. The Mets farm system has had some people questioning the long-term stability of the franchise, but those questions will certainly be put to rest after the deadline. The Mets did a fantastic job at capitalizing off of the opportunity to sell high on some of their struggling talent, while also planning for the future, which isn’t that far away.

Biggest Loser: The New York Yankees

The Yankees, similar to their New York counterpart Mets came into the trade deadline as one of the teams with the highest payrolls in baseball, while also underperforming way below expectations. With the Yankees currently ranking 5th in the American League in strikeouts, not having a true left fielder, and ranking 7th in the American League in ERA, you’d think the high rolling Yankees would certainly make improvements to their roster, right? Well, that was not the case.

The Yankees and Brian Cashman did not improve the Yankees during the 2023 trade deadline in the slightest. Coming down to the 6pm EST deadline, it was looking like the Yankees weren’t going to make any moves at all, let alone improve the squad. However, they would eventually make two trades, as they’d acquire Keyan Middleton from the White Sox, and Spencer Howard from the Texas Rangers.

Middleton has honestly been a really solid reliever for the White Sox, as he’s struck out slightly over 30% of batters this season while also posting a 3.96 ERA. But, Middleton should not have been the deadline headliner for a team like the Yankees, while they’re struggling or not. As I previously mentioned, the Yankees have not been able to fill the holes of many of their offensive positions, the focus being left field. So, when a struggling team with one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball is in need of an upgrade, they shouldn’t have any issues making that happen. But with the Yankees, that just wasn’t the case. With outfielders such as Tommy Pham, and more being available, especially at low prices, there’s no excuse for the Yankees not jumping on one of these guys.

Spencer Howard, a former top prospect for the Philadelphia Phillies, has just not been able to figure it out in the MLB just yet. He certainly still has plenty of potential, and he could be a really nice add for the Yankees. Again though, Spencer Howard should not be the headliner for a struggling Yankees team. But, he was indeed the headliner. This season, Howard has only appeared in 3 MLB games, where he currently has an ERA of 10.80.

Yankees fans came into the deadline hopeful, and looking for a solution to their struggles this season. Instead, they left the deadline with as little hope as ever, and filled with anger. The Yankees have done nothing to show me that they will finish above last place in the ALE this season, and honestly, they deserve it. The Yankees are learning a tough lesson that you can’t always rely on one player to make your team run.

Winner: The Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays came into the 2023 deadline in a very indeed spot. They are currently 1.5 games behind the Orioles for first place in the ALE, and have arguably the most solid roster in all of baseball. But, they’ve definitely had their fair share of struggles in the month of July. The Rays were baseball’s hottest team for the longest time, but went just 8-16 in the month of July.

While it’s important to note the Rays made a few other minor trades, the main trade we will be focusing on is the trade that sent Aaron Civale to Tampa Bay. Civale has been incredible this season for the Cleveland Guardians, as he currently boasts a 2.34 ERA, 4.9% barrel percentage, and one of the best curveballs in Major League Baseball. The Rays are not only known for developing good pitching, but helping pitchers reach new heights when it comes to their capabilities. Civale seems to be the perfect Ray, as he is a block of moldable clay, while also being an incredibly solid starter this season. With a combination of a really good curveball, good metrics to build off of, and being a solid pitcher already, he will definitely become a great pitcher with the Rays. Civale’s almost 3,000 RPM curveball not only generates an opponent xwOBA of just .241, but it also has posted a whiff rate of over 27%, along with other good metrics. With a little help, Civale could easily become a top of the rotation starter with the Rays.

Unfortunately, the Rays would have to give up first baseman Kyle Manzardo. Manzardo was a really talented hitter with the Rays, as he would record a wRC+ above 140 in each season besides 2023. Manzardo has had his fair share of struggles this year, but he’s still a very talented prospect, as MLB Pipeline currently has him ranked 37 overall. With his struggles this season, Tampa Bay might’ve taken this as an opportunity to move on, and take their chances with a high level starter in Civale.

With all things considered, the Rays really made a good move when it came to acquiring a top of the line starter in Aaron Civale, while also moving on from a struggling Manzardo. Their current competition in the Baltimore Orioles however, did not make an improvement this large, which I think gives them the edge over the Orioles in the homestretch of the season.

Loser: The Baltimore Orioles

Similarly to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles came into the 2023 trade deadline in an interesting spot themselves. Currently sitting 1.5 games above Tampa Bay Rays in the ALE, and needing to improve their rotation, especially if they hope to make a deep playoff run. However, their moves they would end up making would not be what many fans had hoped for.

With plenty of prospect capital to go around, the Orioles had been linked to some really big talent. The Orioles had made calls regarding Shohei Ohtani when he was available, Dylan Cease, Mitch Keller, and more. Unfortunately though, the only big trade the Orioles would make would be for struggling starter Jack Flaherty. Flaherty, an injury riddled, struggling starter is certainly not a game changing acquisition for a struggling rotation. Flaherty currently has an ERA of 4.43, an opponent wOBA of .349, and a BB% of just over 11%. As you can see, Flaherty should certainly not be the headline trade for a team in first place, with prospects to spare, that also has a struggling rotation.

While it’s important to note that with the market being predominantly a sellers market, I can’t help but wonder if the asking price of high-end talents such as Cease and Keller was far too steep for the Orioles to buy into. Regardless of these potential issues, the Orioles main issues are without a doubt their rotation, and it’s the part of their team which scares me the most for a deep playoff run, let alone a playoff run at all.

With the Orioles being in talks for all of this talent, and extra reinforcements, only being able to receive Flaherty is a huge let down for this franchise. Like I previously mentioned, with plenty of options for trades to go around, it’s understandable as to why many people saw more happening for this franchise. Instead, the Orioles are now left to hope from the best from young stars like Grayson Rodriguez, alongside their other starting pitchers. All things considered, this deadline was very disappointing for the Orioles and their fans.

The Good and Bad: The Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels were the talk of baseball when it came to the deadline for the weeks leading up to the draft, all because of one man, Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani himself could’ve brought the Angels a prospect haul to revamp their franchise, or enough MLB ready players to compete next season. However, the Angels made the incredibly questionable decision to hang on to their superstar, and try to go all in on the 2023 season. I personally think this is a huge mistake, solely for the amount of talent the Angels could’ve received back, especially because Ohtani re-signing with the Angels feels like a longshot. The Angels not trading Ohtani is what makes me question their moves this deadline. Especially because if he doesn’t sign back, they can only dream of the hauls they could’ve had for him during this deadline, especially with a sellers market in full effect.

However, we can’t sit and talk about the pros and cons of trading and not trading Shohei Ohtani when the Angels made their decision to go all in, and started buying pieces to help them do this. The Angels began their deadline push by trading for Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo López. While the Angels desperately need pitching help, I can’t ignore the fact that Edgar Quero was included in the return package for the White Sox. Quero, a switch-hitting top prospect, has one of the highest ceilings in Minor League Baseball. Although he’s struggled this season, Quero posted a wRC+ of 150 in 2022, alongside 17 homers. Quero is also ranked as the 65th best prospect in all of Minor League Baseball. Giolito and López are both really solid pitchers, as they both have ERAs below or equal to 4, alongside good analytics. All things considered, the Angels got much needed pitching help in this trade, while also surrendering solid prospects in Edgar Quero and Ky Bush.

The Angels also wouldn’t be done at just Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López, as they would also make a trade to acquire C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk from the Rockies. Cron has been slightly below league average this season with a wRC+ of 91, but he should make a pretty solid fill in option for the Angels as they look to get to the promise land. Grichuk however, has been really good this season. Although he’s only played in 65 games, he currently has hit 9 homers, with a wRC+ of 119. Grichuk should be a much needed hitter who could potentially play daily, and he honestly makes to be a really solid addition for the Angels as they look to complete. Also, although Cron hasn’t lived up to his typical self this year, it’s important to know that he still has the potential to be a really solid hitter for the Angels.

In conclusion, you can easily see the pros and cons of the Angels trade deadline this season. They got good talent to help on their playoff push, but they also gave up solid prospects in Quero and Bush. Holding onto Shohei Ohtani is an interesting choice as well, but only time can tell how this deadline will fully turn out for the Angels.

Honorable Mentions/Conclusion:

The teams covered in today’s article are certainly not the only interesting teams involved in this year’s trade deadline. Other teams such as the Diamondbacks, Pirates, Padres, White Sox, Marlins, Guardians, Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Astros all had interesting days as well. This year’s deadline might not have been the most exciting we’ve seen, but the moves and storylines this year were certainly very entertaining. But, as for how they’ll end up? Well, only time will tell, but many teams had very good moves made, while many teams also made the complete opposite. But, one thing is for certain. The trade deadline will always be exciting.